GM plant closes

A notice at the GM Welcome Center in Spring Hill tells visitors that plant tours have been canceled as above hangs a banner of the Chevy Traverse and above that a banner from the Saturn days with a quote from Mike Bennett that begins with “Partnership and commitment… .” The plant shuts down Wednesday with no commitment for the future from GM. Staff photo by Susan W. Thurman

After two decades, the GM Spring Hill assembly plant will shut its doors, leaving thousands without jobs during the worst economic times since the Great Depression.

The plant, which will produce its final vehicle Wednesday, will shut down a majority of its operations.

With fewer than 24 hours before the last Chevrolet Traverse rolls off the line, the mood around the plant mirrored that of a graduating class, only without the air of celebration.

Mike Minor, who puts the finishing touches on vehicles, said everyone is talking about where they are going and what will happen now.

“A lot of people are uprooting their families,” he said. “They are talking about packing, where they are going and how they are going to sell their house.”

Minor arrived in 1991 to be a part of “A New Kind of Car Company,” but will leave Dec. 7 in search of a new kind of job.

“We moved here thinking we would could retire from this plant,” he said. “We’ve been here 20 years working together and now everyone is going their separate ways.”